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Double Chocolate And Pear Cakes

September 21, 2009

When I look out the window, it is hard to imagine that Fall officially starts tomorrow. We have two seasons here more or less, Warm and Hot. Christmas celebrated in a summer dress, well, "it ain't fittin'. It jes' ain't fittin'" But there are signs that cannot be mistaken. Night falls earlier, the wind has finally picked up, the pecans are weighing the tree branches down. The light is now giving cold blue undertones, I put the diffuser back up in the studio, my shooting schedule has changed. Most importantly, the oven is buzzing with tarts, custards and cakes like these Double Chocolate And Pear Cakes, a gluten free adaptation of my mother's recipe.

I like spontaneity as much as I like certain family rituals. One that my folks have back home is to get together for tea time everyday around four or five o'clock. Even now that my grandmother is gone, my mother makes the same one yard walk to my grandfather's and continues the tradition. One of my fondest memories is always this moment shared around their dining room table right when it is getting darker outside and we cozy up around a slice of cake and a hot cup of tea and chat.

As a kid, I'd sit quietly and listen to a mix of conversations ranging from politics and literature to the more basic questions of what to cook for the next family get together. As a teenager I started taking part by bringing treats of my own like madeleines and langues de chats. As an adult, every time I go home, I just sit quietly and listen, literally captivated by every word they say, every event or family member they talk about. I try to encapsulate those precious moments for the long strips of time I spent away from them.

Comes Fall when my "cozying-it-up" starts to kick in, I make this cake every weekend so that we can have tea and cake like they do back home. I have no idea where my mom got the original recipe, I just found several copies of it in different recipe tins around the house. I love it for the simple reason that you can make it your own with the flavor that you like. October might be cardamom and pistachios, November might give way to almond and vanilla while December might see some colorful candied fruits. Right now it's pears and chocolate.

After successfully adapting a chocolate tart recipe earlier this month to a gluten version, I thought my favorite cake would be next to become gluten free. The cake was not difficult to adapt using different flours and eggs and butter are there to help ingredients bind and raise properly. I mean, it's hard to mess things up when there are eggs and butter. I added cocoa powder and melted dark chocolate to the batter and topped each cake with slices of ripe pears. I knew the flours could lend a different, sandy texture to the finished cakes so I slightly underbaked them so they'd remain moist for a couple of days.

I purposely left out any kind of spice this time but I am thinking cardamom for the next cup of tea. I also want to try adapting this gorgeous Olive Oil Cake by Connie and these cute Nutella pound cakes by Dana. I can tell Fall is here...

Preheat the oven to 350F and position a rack in the center. Grease cupcake liners or a loaf pan and place them on a baking sheet. Set aside.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, scarping the sides of the bowl in between each addition. Add the melted chocolate and beat until smooth. Add the buttermilk and beat, still on low, until incorporated. Add the flours, cocoa and baking powders and beat for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and beat for a minute. Pour the mixture into your prepared pan(s) and place the slices of pears on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes for a loaf, 20-25 minutes for individual cakes. Check at the earliest baking time indicated as each oven runs differently and you want to keep the cake(s) moist inside.

Lovely, truly lovely. The image of a teenage girl happily sharing a moment with her elders, enjoying the connection. You brought a tear to my eye. my daughters and I will have to make these, just for that moment.

I can't tell you how much I enjoy each and every one of your posts. They are not only beautiful recipes, but the stories that go along with them are heartwarming and divine! Thank you for helping me welcome in autumn.

Gorgeous gorgeousness! Pear and chocolate are just perfect together. I am enjoying collecting more ideas containing gluten free flours. Although I'm not GF myself I think we all have at least one friend who is and I agree it's always fun to extend your repertoire and best of all they're all very tasty and delicious, honestly now and then I quite often prefer the GF over wheat.

Those tarts look absolutely delectable, and a perfect way to enjoy autumn and ease into winter. I appreciate reading these gluten-free recipes, they are so helpful and important as I seem to encounter more and more folks who live on this diet. And best of all, your food looks irresistable!

Chocolate, pears, tea, cardamom... Yep, definitely fall. It's my favorite season (because in the Midwest, we actually have fall :P ). I'm loving all the GF treats floating around - I should use more of my random GF flours on things like this!

These little cakes look delish and I love the liners (thanks for the link). Also, I'm loving the Gluten Free recipes. I've never cooked with pears but always wanted to, so this recipe is earmarked (along with your entire site!) for future reference.

Fantastic combo! The cool blue mornings are my favorite times of the day, during the 'dark' periods.I especially love the photos of the teaspoon outline and the curly vines!I have also wondered about how to offset the blue undertones...thru thru trial and error and ended up with unflattering results...what do you suggest?

Did I ever mention how lucky your husband is to have a wife like you?! You are just amazing! If I am even half as lucky to find a woman like you to marry, I'd be the happiest person ever. As Always, your photos are beautiful (esp. that pear photo).

And this cake! Oh, there aren't enough words to describe how yummalicious they look! I will have to give it a try :D

Alexandra: I usually go about a couple of ways: I set my white balance manually with a piece of white paper (each camera does it differently so check your manual for custom white balance). I also place a large thin sheet over the main light sources. I usually use bedding sheets that we don't use but any piece that will cover the light source will diffuse the blue undertones. Sometimes I like them, most times I don't :)Hope that helps!

dear tartlette! i have a huge smile right now because...#1 your posts are fabulous #2 your photography is amazing#3 your stories touch an emotional chord#4 i love chocolate & pears#5 i just purchased muffin top papers& now know what to do with them

Mmm... I feel a special passion for autumn, it's my favourite season! The cakes sound delicious and the photos are tasteful! But I think five cakes is just nothing, I would bake at least 10 at a time :)))

Although sweets are off our menu for a while, I loved this post for it's lyrical evocation of fall in words and pictures, and (most especially) of your family's afternoon tea. I'll be back, whether I can actually use the recipes or not, because you write so beautifully.

If experimenting and wish to try to substitute buttermilk, or soured milk in a gluten-free recipe that calls for regular milk, it is suggested that you will need to add baking soda to the recipe if it doesn't call for any. Add the baking soda to the dry ingredients and mix well. Do not add it to the soured milk (some recipes may call for it to be added to the milk) as it will cause the leaven quality in the baking soda to be lost in the milk and not the batter/dough.

Use 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for 1/2 cup of milk. This proportion seems to work well for gluten-free recipe conversions.

My husband and I always have a nice treat with a glass of wine every night. (I left the wine review site I use attached to my name, just click it). We will be making this tomorrow night for sure! Looks delectable!!

If it were not for you, I would still be too chicken to try baking anything gluten-free. Gathering my courage... I only hope that whatever I make will look half as lovely as the stuff you crank out. I think you need a REAL challenge... Make a pastry using only water - ha ha ha ha!!! ;) I know you could do that too. xxoo

I made this recipe- yummy but question about the texture. I used amaranth grains and they are VERY small. I put them through my spice grinder (really just a coffee grinder) but wasn't able to get them to more of powder texture. So there were little amaranth grains in the cake. Is there a way to improve that at all?